How to say "of the" and "some"

| Thu, 06/17/2010 - 06:55

Last week we looked at the singular indefinite article [“a” in English] un, uno, una or un’.

Now we need to look at how to say “of the” or “some”. This is where some Italian learners give up because they think it is very difficult but it is not difficult if you know how to say “the”.

This table tell you how to say “some” by referring to the definite article [“the”]:

The Of the / Some Example

[il --> del] del pollo – some chicken

[lo --> dello] dello speck – some speck

[l’ [masc]--> dell’] dell’agnello – some lamb

[la --> della] della frutta – some fruit

[l’ [fem] --> dell’] dell’aragosta – some lobster

[i --> dei] dei pomodori – some tomatoes

[gli --> degli] degli spinaci – some spinach

[le --> delle] delle arance - some oranges

You are most likely to use this when asking for some items, so you can say,

Vorrei – "I would like" plus "some" plus items

Vorrei delle arance – I’d like some oranges

These forms are also used to indicate possession, where we would use an apostrophe in English:

Il libro del ragazzo – the boy’s book

Now see if you can put in the right form of “of the “or “some” in this exercise:
Vorrei _____ pomodori.
Ha ______ patate?
_____ banane, per favore.
_____ limoni, per favore.
Vorrei _____ scampi.
I libri ____ ragazzi.
La casa ____ signora.
La camera _____ zio.
Vorrei ____ vino.
Il fidanzato _____ amica.

Now the good news: with expressions of quantity, we just use di:

Un chilo di mele – a kilo of apples

Un po’ di formaggio – a little cheese

Un chilo di – a kilo of

Un mezzo chilo di – a half kilo of

Un etto di – 100 grams of

Un litro di – a litre of

Un pizzico di - a pinch of

Un bicchiere di - a glass of

Una bottiglia di – a bottle of

Una tazza di – a cup of

Un pezzo di – a piece of

Una fetta di – a slice of

Un po’ di – a little of